The Holy Grails of music
Take note that on this day, Friday the 17th of November, I called it that BT’s This Binary Universe is equally as outstanding as U2’s Achtung Baby. Not since 1991 has an album been created with equal perfection – it took 15 years folks.
Holy Grails (with caps and all…)
Achtung Baby | U2, and This Binary Universe | BT
Normal holy grails (no caps, bust still exceptionally good as far as production goes) – in no particular order…
Non zero sumness | Planet Funk
Beaucoup Fish | Underworld
Homogenic | Björk
Ariels | Bent
Two against nature | Steely Dan
Travelling without moving | Jamiroquai
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (all cds/music) | Yoko Kanno
Zooropa | U2
Pop | U2
Yes, U2 have three entries in total and yes, they are all shining examples of exceptional mixing and engineering; that’s what generally happens when you have the best studio crew in the business working on your stuff. Björk’s entry is hardly a surprise given Howie B’s involvement who of-course was a big part of the afore-mentioned U2, and generally anything Yoko Kanno touches turns to gold. It was very difficult choosing between Underwrold’s second and third album, but I went with the third as it shows the most maturity both from a musical standpoint and an engineering perspective.
The albums above represent the finest in musicianship, programming, mixing and engineering as far as my music listening experience goes. I don’t list any orchestral or opera entries as generally there are many iterations of the same production and it’s hard to nail one down as the best. It’s worth mentioning on the musicianship side that I certainly have albums and pieces of music that have more elaborate playing on them, especially in the genres of funk/fusion and jazz, but the albums above come together in every element, not just playing speed and busting out great fills and difficult technical work.
Not only are the albums above created with the most exceptional engineering, but they all reach into the heights of many different emotions in very powerful and effective ways, which really is what all of that technical brilliance is for; the best possible translation of the musical atmosphere.
If any of you have an ear for audio-engineering at all, even if you don’t necessarily get into the music itself, try having a good solid listen-through to one of these albums with some high-end speakers properly spaced in a good room, or a decent set of cans (headphones). The more you listen to them, the more you’ll realise just how good they are.